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Claire Robyns: Smile you’ve been dumped!

Unless you’re one of the lucky few to still be with your high school sweetheart, there’s a good chance you’ve got some firsthand experience in the art of dumping and/or getting dumped.

It’s one of those niggly facts of life, it doesn’t get easier with practice, and the only known cure to date is extra creamy, full fat ice-cream.

First up is the Plain Vanilla Cure

Things have been a little off for a while now and you have ‘the talk’ like civilized adults. You know the one I mean, it goes something like this…

“It’s me, not you.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“You’ll find someone far better than me.”

“I hope we can still be friends. Call me. Seriously!”

Then there’s the Decadent Delight with a cherry on top to take the sting away

for when your partner is suddenly busy at odd hours, takes a little too long to return your calls at a ratio of 1:10, seemingly disinterested, distracted and selectively forgetful… you’re dumped and you know it. He/she just couldn’t be bothered to spare the time and energy to actually tell you.

Last, for which we reserve the Double Chocolate Fudge with an extra scoop of cream, is the coupe de grace of sneaky dumping.

They’ve given this one a lot of thought, put more effort into it than they ever put into the relationship. This is the one when your partner slowly but surely smothers you with sweet consideration, excessive intimacy and oppressive disorders that look and sound like sudden commitment but taste like torture. You have no choice but to dump him/her and live with guilt. While your partner sneaks off into the night with a light heart and superior smile.

This last one, of course, is the one us writers can have the most fun with. In Second-Guessing Fate, Gemma doesn’t believe Madame Hooch’s predictions that first Nick will dump her and then she’ll find her soul mate. She wasn’t even looking for a soul mate, until a couple of weeks with Nick reminded her of how much she’d been missing out on.

When every last one of Madame Hooch’s predictions come true, Gemma is convinced she has to get Nick to dump her before she loses her heart to him completely. And if she wants that soul mate afterwards, she has to let Fate run its course and wait for Nick to do the dumping. And surely it wouldn’t hurt to nudge him a little in the right direction…?

Can She Outwit Fate?

Gemma is on a collision course with heartbreak. At least, according to the fortune-teller her best friend drags her to see. Gemma doesn’t believe a word of it, but when other predictions start to come true, she begins to suspect that gorgeous, gray-eyed Nick is the man foretold to break her heart before she can find her soul mate. Too bad she’s never met a man she’s wanted more, because now she has to get him to dump her before she falls too hard.

Nick has plans of his own. He’s ready to settle down with Ms. Right, and everything points to the beautiful Gemma. He’s determined to prove to her that he’s the perfect boyfriend—even if she does seem to be trying her best to scare him off…

To celebrate the release of Second-Guessing Fate, Claire is giving away an ebook copy of Second-Guessing Fate. Please leave a comment to be entered.

I have a royal dumping story. I’d been dating my boyfriend for about 4 years, 2 of which he’d spent each and every moment trying to convince me to move closer—we were living in neighbouring cities, about an hour’s drive apart. So, I finally decided to take the plunge. We went flat hunting and I signed a 6 month lease agreement in his city, even had a new job lined up so I wouldn’t have a long commute, and the week I was supposed to move, he took me out to lunch and told me it just wasn’t working out.

I don’t think I said anything during that lunch. Hell, I might even have thanked him for the meal. I was shocked out of my mind. Everything had been put into motion, and I was moving to another city for no reason whatsoever, leaving behind friends, family and colleagues and I was doing it with a breaking heart.

But sometimes Fate has our back. About a month after I’d moved, a couple of friends came over from my old city to see how I was doing. We went out to a bar/club around the corner from my new flat and that evening I met my husband.

I’d love to hear your story. Or maybe you’ve just dreamt up a few scenarios you wish you’d used on a particular ex-boyfriend/girlfriend?

Your story sounds incredibly intriguing! I wonder if Gemma is going to find out that maybe Nick’s going to be the keeper? =) It sounds like a wonderful story of two people at cross-purposes, destined to together.

Oh, and your dumping story. What an experience! Sounds like writing a juicy murder mystery might be in your future!

Worst dumping story for me was when I caught my man making out with my best friend! The snake! Everything is very tragic when you’re 19. I’m so glad I didn’t end up with him. My hubby is much better, so it all worked out in the end. And I’m still friends with my then best friend (it was worth trying to save that relationship!).

I haven’t had many relationships in my life, but I’ve come to the realization at the end of my last one that I’ve always been the one to end things. I’m not sure what to make of that! Though with the exception of one, all the breakups were definitely plain vanilla.

Oh, no, Kaetrin, that would be tragic at any age. Seriously, I thought that only happens in romance novels. Life is strange, but I do believe fate plays a little part in that, when things are the darkest, sometimes something good comes out of it.

Dana, it just means you’re picky and expect the best for yourself (as well we all should)